This project constitutes one of the two major laboratory research focuses of this section. The goals are to identify, map and characterize VZV genes and proteins expressed during active and latent infections, and to define the temporal sequence and control of gene expression. To date, we mapped the viral genome, its transcripts, and a number of important genes. We proved that VZV remains latent in satellite cells of human nerve ganglia and that 4 to 11 of 72 VZV genes are expressed during latency. To better detect and characterize latency transcripts, we are currently extracting RNA from human ganglia, processing it with reverse transcriptase, and performing polymerase chain reactions (PCR) using synthetic olio nucleotides representing targeted VZV open reading frames. In other studies, we are defining the roles and components of open reading frames responsible for VZV gene regulation. Specifically, by creating mutations within genes 4 and 61, we identified protein domains responsible for gene transactivation and suppression.